Over the decades, a few notable Spider-Man villains have gone through plenty of notable changes from their original depictions in the comics. While the web-slinger's comics evolved and changed over the years, the character's movies and other media continue to deliver new takes on both him and his famous rogues' gallery. Some of these characters have gone through more drastic changes than others, making them almost unrecognizable from what they used to be.
Five classic Spider-Man villains from the hero's early days in the comics look far different in their most recent media appearances. Sony continues to bring the heat with its villains in multiple Spider-Man universes, with many of the hero's biggest antagonists getting their time to shine on the big and small screen. Ahead are how five of the wall-crawler's most notable antagonists have changed visually since their Marvel Comics debuts:
Changes to 5 Biggest Villains from Spider-Man Media
Lizard
Marvel Comics first introduced Curt Connors, more commonly known as The Lizard, in The Amazing Spider-Man #6 in November 1963. A brilliant scientist with one missing arm, he experimented with cross-species genetics and changed himself into The Lizard, a humanoid, green, reptilian monster with a massive tail. In the comics, he was first depicted with purple pants, a white lab coat, and green scaly skin.
The Amazing Spider-Man featured The Lizard in his first live-action appearance, portrayed by Rhys Ifans in 2012. For this movie, his Lizard alter-ego went without clothes, showing off a fully transformed reptilian body and head, complete with a sharp-edged mouth opening, long claws on his fingers, and sharp, pointy teeth. This design was brought back to the MCU for Spider-Man: No Way Home, although Marvel had a few alternate ideas in mind before production started.
Scorpion
The Amazing Spider-Man #20 was the first comic to include Scorpion in December 1964, making him one of Spidey's earliest villains. Originally a private investigator named Mac Gargan, this comic shows him being hired by J. Jonah Jameson to go after Spider-Man before he undergoes an experiment to obtain his extra appendages. The comics first showed Gargan wearing a green suit encompassing his entire body except his eyes, complete with a massive tail and stinger coming off his back.
Most recently, Scorpion was used as a villain in Marvel's Spider-Man on the PlayStation, bringing back the green suit with a more modern, armored look. This time, instead of his eyes being uncovered, Mac wears an orange-lensed mask and keeps his mouth open. Michael Mando's take on Mac Gargan is expected to become the Scorpion in the MCU during Spider-Man: Brand New Day, although his design is being kept under wraps.
Electro
The Amazing Spider-Man #9 (February 1964) marked the first Marvel Comics appearance for Max Dillon, who would go on to be recognized by his villainous moniker, Electro. Struck by lightning while working on high-voltage power lines, Max gains electricity-based abilities, allowing him to control electricity and generate electrical blasts. Costume-wise, he dons a green and yellow suit with lightning bolts on it, and he has a star-shaped mask made of lightning bolts.
Jamie Foxx played the Electro role in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, although this movie gave him blue, electrified skin after he fell into a vat of electric eels. His costume was a full-body leather suit, making him look far different from his comic counterpart. However, when Foxx returned to the role in 2021's No Way Home, he regained his normal complexion. He embraced a look similar to Electro's comic origins (after a few alternate designs were put on the table).
Rhino
In October 1966, Marvel Comics introduced Aleksei Sytsevich's The Rhino in The Amazing Spider-Man #41. Sytsevich is a Russian criminal who takes on an experimental procedure, which ends with him having a strong and durable suit that resembles rhinoceros skin grafted onto his own skin. This gave him a simple design, covering him in a rhino-esque suit with horns on his forehead while leaving his face exposed.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 changed this look for Paul Giamatti's Rhino, giving him an enormous mechanical suit that looked like a rhinoceros, which stood about 11 or 12 feet tall. In the Marvel's Spider-Man series for the PlayStation, that version of Rhino got a similar look, but it was more conformed to his body, and he wore a thick rhino-looking mask with a horn on it. After that, Sony took a crack at the Rhino in 2024's Kraven the Hunter through Alessandro Nivola, but his version's skin transformed into a rhino hide and made him more of a mutated figure.
Shocker
Marvel introduced fans to Herman Schultz as the Shocker in March 1967's The Amazing Spider-Man #46. Recognized as a gifted engineer and thief, Schultz invented high-frequency vibro-gauntlets to aid him in his robberies, which became part of his costume. This costume was yellow and red with a diamond pattern, and he used it to protect himself from the intense vibrations his gauntlets gave off.
While neither of Spider-Man: Homecoming's Shockers used a costume, the villain got a look similar to his comic origins in 2018's Marvel's Spider-Man. The PlayStation game brought back duller yellow color and the usual diamond pattern, but he also wore protective padding on his arms, legs, and shoulders while using a brown and yellow metal mask to shield his face.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
